Dallas Basketball

Dallas Mavs Rookie Dereck Lively II Leaves Los Angeles Lakers Game with Back Contusion

Star rookie big man Dereck Lively II went down in the third quarter of the Dallas Mavericks' game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, and he had to be helped off the floor.

Dalton Trigg

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During the third quarter of the Dallas Mavericks' matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, star rookie big man Dereck Lively II went down with what appeared to be a leg injury. He had to leave the game and wasn't able to put any pressure on his leg as he left the floor with the help of his teammates.

The Mavs have since provided an update that Lively suffered a back contusion, and he won't return to the game.

Dereck Lively dunks on the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dereck Lively dunks on the Los Angeles Lakers / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

In 19 minutes, Lively had two points, 10 rebounds and three assists. For the season, the 19-year-old center has been one of the more impressive rookies in the league, averaging 8.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while helping the Mavs to a 9-5 record.

Veteran center Richaun Holmes has filled in admirably for Lively, but if the Mavs want to be a serious contender this season, they need to hope their only rim protector doesn't have to miss much time. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for more updates throughout the night.

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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